March 30, 2016

WEEKLY NOTICES OF STATE RULE-MAKING
Public Input for Proposed and Adopted Rules

Notices are published each Wednesday to alert the public regarding state agency rule-making. You may obtain a copy of any rule by notifying the agency contact person. You may also comment on the rule, and/or attend the public hearing. If no hearing is scheduled, you may request one -- the agency may then schedule a hearing, and must do so if 5 or more persons request it. If you are disabled or need special services to attend a hearing, please notify the agency contact person at least 7 days prior to it. Petitions: you can petition an agency to adopt, amend, or repeal any rule; the agency must provide you with petition forms, and must respond to your petition within 60 days. The agency must enter rule-making if the petition is signed by 150 or more registered voters, and may begin rule-making if there are fewer. You can also petition the Legislature to review a rule; the Executive Director of the Legislative Council (115 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333, phone 207/287-1615) will provide you with the necessary petition forms. The appropriate legislative committee will review a rule upon receipt of a petition from 100 or more registered voters, or from "...any person who may be directly, substantially and adversely affected by the application of a rule..." (Title 5 Section 11112). World-Wide Web: Copies of the weekly notices and the full texts of adopted rule chapters may be found on the internet at: http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/rules. There is also a list of rule-making liaisons, who are single points of contact for each agency.

PROPOSALS

AGENCY: 94-457 - Finance Authority of Maine (FAME)
PROPOSED RULE NUMBER: 2016-P035
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 611, Maine College Savings Program (Amendment 15)
BRIEF SUMMARY: The amendments will conform the rule to provisions of the federal Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act of 2015 affecting Section 529 qualified tuition programs which are already in effect, and make a minor modification to the maximum contribution limit formula (which will not affect the current limit).
PUBLIC HEARING: None. One would be scheduled at the request of 5 or more persons.
COMMENT DEADLINE: April 29, 2016
CONTACT PERSON FOR THIS FILING / SMALL BUSINESS INFORMATION: Katryn Gabrielson, Deputy General Counsel, Finance Authority of Maine, PO Box 949, Augusta, ME 04332-0949. Telephone: (207) 620-3515. Fax: (207) 213-2615. TTY: (207) 626-2717. E-mail: kgabrielson@famemaine.com .
IMPACT ON MUNICIPALITIES OR COUNTIES: None.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY FOR THIS RULE: 10 MRSA  §969-A(14); 20-A MRSA  §11617(2); Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act of 2015 (PL 114-113, 12/18/2015)
SUBSTANTIVE STATE OR FEDERAL LAW BEING IMPLEMENTED (if different):
WEBSITE: www.famemaine.com .
FAME RULE-MAKING LIAISON: croney@famemaine.com .

AGENCY: 01-001 - Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry (DACF)
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 252, Rules Governing Certification of Seed Potatoes in the State of Maine
PROPOSED RULE NUMBER: 2016-P036
BRIEF SUMMARY: This chapter outlines the procedures and standards governing the certification of seed potatoes in the State of Maine The proposed changes will include establishing field tolerances for the disease blackleg, allow more extensive lab testing of post-harvest samples and decrease the number of generations of seed eligible for recertification.
DETAILED SUMMARY: The principal reasons for amending this rule are 1) decrease the Field Year eligibility of seed to be certified 2) to modify the potato seed certification program’s visual field tolerances for blackleg 3) allow the state to do a lab test when conducting the post-harvest test. It will also decrease by one Field Year the eligibility of seed to be recertified, but will make it allowable for that year’s seed to be sold for tablestock or processing use. This change will also bring Maine’s program more in line with other states’ programs and improve the chances of removing from the system any possible high disease seed related to Pectobacterium spp or Dickeya spp.. One additional visual field inspection is proposed focusing on blackleg symptoms in an effort to flush out any blackleg diseases, including Dickeya spp., from the system. A proposed change would allow for lab testing of post-harvest samples as an alternative to the winter growout in Florida.
PUBLIC HEARING: Thursday, April 21, 2016 at 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the University of Maine Presque Isle, Folsom Hall Room 105, Presque Isle, Maine
COMMENT DEADLINE: 4:00 p.m. Monday, May 2, 2016
CONTACT PERSON FOR THIS FILING / SMALL BUSINESS INFORMATION: Ann Gibbs, Director, Animal & Plant Health Division, Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry, 28 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333. Telephone: (207) 287-7602. E-mail: Ann.Gibbs@Maine.gov .
FINANCIAL IMPACT ON MUNICIPALITIES OR COUNTIES (if any): 
STATUTORY AUTHORITY FOR THIS RULE: 7 MRSA ch. 401,  § § 2101-2105; 7 MRSA ch. 1  §12; 7 MRSA ch. 411  §2352
SUBSTANTIVE STATE OR FEDERAL LAW BEING IMPLEMENTED (if different):
AGENCY WEBSITE: http://www.maine.gov/dacf/php/seed_potato/index.shtml .
DACF RULE-MAKING LIAISON: Mari.Wells@Maine.gov .

AGENCY: 10-144 - Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Office of MaineCare Services (OMS) – Division of Policy
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 101, MaineCare Benefits Manual (MBM), Ch. III Section 15, Chiropractic Services
PROPOSED RULE NUMBER: 2016-P037
CONCISE SUMMARY: This rule is being proposed in order to update current billing practices by removing the basic value language that utilizes the units system and replacing the units with rates. Additionally, chiropractic codes will be updated to align with current 2016 CPT codes. These changes include the elimination of code 72090 with the addition of codes 72081, 72082, 72083, and 72084.
See http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/oms/rules/index.shtml for rules and related rule-making documents.
PUBLIC HEARING: April 19, 2016, 2:30 p.m., 242 State Street, Conference Room 1, Augusta, ME 04333. The Department requests that any interested party requiring special arrangements to attend the hearing contact the agency person listed below before April 12, 2016.
DEADLINE FOR COMMENTS: Comments must be received by midnight April 29, 2016.
AGENCY CONTACT PERSON: Cari Bernier, Comprehensive Health Planner II, MaineCare Services, 242 State Street, 11 State House Station, Augusta, Maine 04333-0011. Telephone: (207) 624-4031. Fax: (207) 287-1864. TTY: 711 (Deaf or Hard of Hearing). E-mail: Cari.Bernier@Maine.gov .
IMPACT ON MUNICIPALITIES OR COUNTIES: The Department anticipates that this rule-making will not have any impact on municipalities or counties.
CONTACT PERSON FOR SMALL BUSINESS INFORMATION: N/A
STATUTORY AUTHORITY FOR THIS RULE: 42 CFR  § § 440.60, 447.201
SUBSTANTIVE STATE OR FEDERAL LAW BEING IMPLEMENTED (if different):
WEBSITE: http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/oms/ .
DHHS RULE-MAKING LIAISON: Kevin.Wells@Maine.gov .

AGENCY: 10-144 - Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Office of MaineCare Services (OMS) – Division of Policy
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 101, MaineCare Benefits Manual (MBM): Ch. II & III Section 43, Hospice Services
PROPOSED RULE NUMBER: 2016-P038
CONCISE SUMMARY: This rule is being proposed to comply with the implementation of hospice payment reforms as set out in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Rule, 42 CFR  §418.302, 306. The final rule requires that State Medicaid programs make revisions to their methodologies for determining the payment rate for Routine Home Care (RHC) and other services. These changes include a new payment methodology for Routine Home Care (RHC) to implement two rates that will result in 1) a higher base payment for the first sixty (60) days of hospice care and 2) a reduced base rate for days thereafter. A new Service Intensity Add-on (SIA) payment for services provided by a Registered Nurse (RN) or clinical social worker during the last seven (7) days of a member’s life has also been added. This rule proposes a retroactive effective date of January 1, 2016. The rulemaking also updates the policy titles and section numbers listed in  §43.05-4, Coverage Restrictions during Hospice Election, to correlate with the current version of the MaineCare Benefits Manual.
See http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/oms/rules/index.shtml for rules and related rule-making documents.
PUBLIC HEARING: April 19, 2016, 9:00 a.m., 19 Union Street - Room 111A, Augusta, ME. The Department requests that any interested party requiring special arrangements to attend the hearing contact the agency person listed below before April 11, 2016.
DEADLINE FOR COMMENTS: Comments must be received by midnight April 29, 2016.
AGENCY CONTACT PERSON / SMALL BUSINESS INFORMATION: Anne Labonte Perreault, Comprehensive Health Planner II, MaineCare Services, 242 State Street, 11 State House Station, Augusta, Maine 04333-0011. Telephone: (207) 624-4082. Fax: (207) 287-1864. TTY: 711 (Deaf or Hard of Hearing). E-mail: Anne.Labonte-Perreault@Maine.gov .
IMPACT ON MUNICIPALITIES OR COUNTIES: The Department anticipates that this rule-making will not have any impact on municipalities or counties.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY FOR THIS RULE: 22 MRSA  § § 42, 3173; 42 CFR  §418.302, 306
SUBSTANTIVE STATE OR FEDERAL LAW BEING IMPLEMENTED (if different):
WEBSITE: http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/oms/ .
DHHS RULE-MAKING LIAISON: Kevin.Wells@Maine.gov .

AGENCY: 99-420 - Maine Turnpike Authority (MTA)
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 2, Regulations for the Installation of Logo Signs on the Maine Turnpike
PROPOSED RULE NUMBER: 2016-P039
BRIEF SUMMARY: The MTA proposes to amend its existing logo sign rule to allow: (1) logo signs for locations that can only be accessed through interchanges on the interstate highway beyond the southern or northern limits of the Maine Turnpike and (2) logo signs for food and gas on the northbound side of the Turnpike north of mile marker 106 and the southbound side of the Turnpike south of mile marker six.
PUBLIC HEARING: No public hearing is currently scheduled.
COMMENT DEADLINE: April 29th, 2016
CONTACT PERSON FOR THIS FILING / SMALL BUSINESS INFORMATION / MTA RULE-MAKING LIAISON: Jonathan Arey, 2360 Congress Street, Portland, Maine 04210. Telephone: (207) 632-4386. E-mail: JArey@MaineTurnpike.com .
FINANCIAL IMPACT ON MUNICIPALITIES OR COUNTIES (if any): 
STATUTORY AUTHORITY FOR THIS RULE: 23 MRSA  §1965(U)
SUBSTANTIVE STATE OR FEDERAL LAW BEING IMPLEMENTED (if different):
AGENCY WEBSITE: http://www.maineturnpike.com .

ADOPTIONS

AGENCY: 10-144 - Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Office for Family Independence (OFI)
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE:
Ch. 607, ASPIRE-TANF Program Rules:
Section 3 - Subsection VI, Scheduling Procedures (pages 3-5, 3-7 & 3-8);
Section 4 - Subsection VI, Sanctioning Procedures (pages 4-1, 4-8 & 4-9).
ADOPTED RULE NUMBER: 2016-050
CONCISE SUMMARY: This adopted rule revises the scheduling process in Section 3 to clarify that an unexcused failure to appear for an appointment with ASPIRE, or any of the service providers included in the Family Contract Amendment, or to provide prior notice to ASPIRE of good cause (as determined by ASPIRE/TANF), will result in a Notice of Sanction.
The ASPIRE/TANF program has determined that the current noticing process is duplicative, and delays participant compliance. In Section 4, the initial and duplicative notice of non-compliance and ten workday waiting period will be removed. The current sanctioning process includes a provision that allows the participant ten workdays to prove good cause and request a fair hearing if the participant disagrees with the Department’s determination of good cause. A supervisor will be required to review the participant’s file prior to the recommendation to start the sanction process, and again at the end of the process but prior to the imposition of the sanction of benefits.
EFFECTIVE DATE: March 26, 2016
AGENCY CONTACT PERSON: Dawn Croteau, ASPIRE Program Manager, Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Family Independence, 11 State House Station, 19 Union Street, Augusta ME 04333-0011. Telephone: (207) 624-6968. TTY: 711 (Maine Relay). E-mail: Dawn.Croteau@Maine.gov .
WEBSITE: http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/ofi/services/home.html .
DHHS RULE-MAKING LIAISON: Kevin.Wells@Maine.gov .